"Our Neighborhood's Budget, With Our Own Hands": Daejeon Metropolitan City Finalizes KRW 5 Billion in Participatory Budgeting Projects

[Financial News Daejeon = Kim Won-jun] Daejeon Metropolitan City has completed the selection process for participatory budgeting projects, through which residents identify projects they need and decide how the budget will be allocated. The city will now begin drawing up next year's resident-focused budget proposal, worth a total of KRW 5 billion.
 Daejeon Metropolitan City held a citizens' assembly on the 29th to select citizen-proposed projects for the 2027 participatory budget. The event took place in the seminar room at Daejeon City Hall, with 100 members of the 10th Participatory Budgeting Committee in attendance. It was organized to determine the priorities of projects proposed directly by residents and finalize those to be included in next year's city budget proposal.
 The event began with a budget workshop to help participants understand the participatory budgeting system, followed by a report on this year's progress, instructions on voting procedures, and on-site voting by committee members.
 Daejeon Metropolitan City previously received a total of 226 project proposals through a citizen proposal contest held from April 7 to May 26. The city then selected projects for the citizen vote after reviewing their eligibility with the relevant departments and conducting in-depth deliberations by the Participatory Budgeting Committee.
 The final ranking of each project was determined by combining the results of the online citizen vote, held from the 17th of last month to the 2nd of this month, and the on-site vote by Participatory Budgeting Committee members held at the citizens' assembly. Each accounted for 50%. Daejeon Metropolitan City plans to rank the projects by score and include them in next year's budget proposal within a total limit of KRW 5 billion.
 Participatory budgeting systems at local governments have recently expanded beyond simple projects aimed at resolving everyday complaints to include policy-oriented proposals that address the challenges of the times, such as responding to the climate crisis, supporting young people, and creating smart cities. Daejeon Metropolitan City has also strengthened its preliminary review and deliberation processes so that residents' diverse, community-focused ideas can create synergies with the city's key initiatives.
 A Daejeon Metropolitan City official said, "The participatory budgeting system is a representative form of fiscal democracy in which residents directly decide which projects their communities need." The official added, "We will carefully review and manage the selected projects without disruption so that residents' valuable proposals are fully reflected in city administration and produce meaningful results."

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